Florida 8th grader among top 50 sprinters in the nation

Tyrese Cooper is small but mighty. The Florida 8th grader took home the top prize in the 100, 200, and 400-meter races at the Florida Middle School Track Championships. It's an impressive feat, sure.

Impressive becomes remarkable when you consider that his times would have been fast enough to also win capture high school titles in most states – and he's doing it without a full grasp of the starting blocks.

"I think the 100 is the hardest because my get-out is slow," Cooper told MileSplit.com. "I'm still trying to learn to use starting blocks."

Cooper finished the 100-meter in 10.61 seconds, the 200 in 21.26 and the 400 in 47.76. The top high schoolers in the U.S. finished at 10.32. 20.69, and 45.91 in those events last year, according to MileSplit.com. He's in the Top 50 in each event this year, and just shy of the NCAA Championship cutoffs.

Cooper is the rare convert from football to track and field. He led the Miami Gardens Bulldogs football team to an undefeated season in 2013, but

The performance has Floridians buzzing about his potential next year, when he is expected to compete for a state title. First, though, he needs to graduate middle school.